Fashionable lady figurines are some of my favorite porcelain figurine collectibles. Many of them are from the Victorian Era. The clothes are gorgeous and they are definitely ladies of royal society. But I think are are so many Victorian lady figurines because most of the figurine makers at one time were based out of the United Kingdom.

Lladro figurines are some of my favorites. They have a very different style from Hummel or Royal Doulton. I think that may be because the Lladro porcelain figurine company is located in Spain and was founded in the 1950′s. This is much later than many other porcelain figurine companies.

Lladro figurines have cleaner and sleeker lines than many other lady figurines. Definitely giving off a mid-century Home Decor vibe. You don’t just see Spanish or European lady figurines as well. Lladro artists seem to be fascinated by Oriental ladies and you’ll see Japanese Geisha figurines and Chinese lady figurines as well. Perfect for adding a hint of Asian decor to your home interior design.

I love to add lady figurines to the guest bedroom, when women are visiting. It’s fun to see them use them as ring holders! I go into the bathrom and see they’ve been decorated with jewelry.

Fashionable lady figurines are some of my favorite porcelain figurine collectibles. Many of them are from the Victorian Era. The clothes are gorgeous and they are definitely ladies of royal society. But I think are are so many Victorian lady figurines because most of the figurine makers at one time were based out of the United Kingdom.

Lladro figurines are some of my favorites. They have a very different style from Hummel or Royal Doulton. I think that may be because the Lladro porcelain figurine company is located in Spain and was founded in the 1950′s. This is much later than many other porcelain figurine companies.

Lladro figurines have cleaner and sleeker lines than many other lady figurines. Definitely giving off a mid-century Home Decor vibe. You don’t just see Spanish or European lady figurines as well. Lladro artists seem to be fascinated by Oriental ladies and you’ll see Japanese Geisha figurines and Chinese lady figurines as well. Perfect for adding a hint of Asian decor to your home interior design.

I love to add lady figurines to the guest bedroom, when women are visiting. It’s fun to see them use them as ring holders! I go into the bathrom and see they’ve been decorated with jewelry.

When my granddaughters were younger, we were very involved with child pageants. The first one, Mary, began in toddler pageants just before her second birthday, and she absolutely loved being in pageants! She had a lot of wins, and I think she enjoyed every minute of the pageants and even the preparations, except for the makeup sessions. When she got a little older, she didn’t even mind those.

I had never planned on getting involved with pageants with my granddaughters, and neither had their mothers. We were sort of talked into it when there was a big pageant in our town and my niece, who lived in another town, was coming to stay with us so that she could compete in the pageant. The pageant was for charity, and my niece’s mom persuaded us to enter Mary.

Mary is a cutie, but in that first pageant, she was competing against nine seasoned girls, all with experience with child pageants. We really didn’t have a clue as to what to do, but we got advice from my best friend about hair, makeup, dress, and stage walk. We found an inexpensive dress and stoned it ourselves. We were shocked when Mary won best dress, and we were even more shocked and elated when she won the crown!

Backyard barbeques are a wonderful way to spend time relaxing with family and friends. Baby back ribs are a great entree to serve at a barbeque. Using your favorite baby back ribs recipe is a sure way to make your family and friends enjoy your backyard barbeque. One of my family’s favorite baby back ribs recipes is Orange-Glazed Baby Back Ribs. They have a great citrus taste and are very flavorful.

Orange-Glazed Baby Back Ribs Recipe

What you’ll need:

4 slabs of baby back ribs

2 cups of high pulp orange juice

1 tbs of lemon juice

1 tsp of orange zest

1 tsp of ginger

a dash of hot sauce

1 tbs of dark brown sugar

First place ribs in large Pyrex baking dish and pour orange juice over to soak the ribs in. Let the ribs soak for at least one hour. Mix lemon juice, orange zest, ginger, hot sauce, and dark brown sugar in a small bowl. Heat grill to medium heat and remove ribs from the orange juice. Cook the ribs flipping occasionally for about one hour. After the first hour of grilling, brush the sauce over the ribs every five minutes, still flipping occasionally. Allow the ribs to cook until meat is done. When the ribs are done place on serving tray and serve hot.

A fun and creative way to teach kids about survival is a camping trip. Kids learn best by being involved in real life activities. This is a great activity for families with children of all ages.

The first thing you’ll want to do is choose a destination. You’ll want to choose a destination that does not have all of the amenities of home, but does allow with minor luxuries that you can’t go without (toilets or bathhouse). When you’re choosing a destination, make sure there are plenty of opportunities for self sufficiency. Choose a destination that offers a lake for fishing and swimming, maybe some hiking trails, and allows for you to make a campfire.

After you’ve chosen your destination bring only absolutely necessary items. Necessary items for you may be different than that of someone else. If you find it necessary to have a blowup mattress, bring one. If you feel perfectly comfortable in a sleeping bag on the ground, that’s great too.

A camping trip can be a great vessel for teaching children about survival. Let them go for a hike and make marks on trees to find their way back. You can teach the importance of fishing and catching Your Own supper. Remember, the basics for survival are just water, food, and shelter. Keep those things in mind as you enjoy the camping trip.

As artists we often find beauty in everyday objects or in things which others may not find as aesthetically pleasing to their sensibilities. We find beauty in quirkyness and uniqueness, we find beauty in what is original and unconventional. There is beauty everywhere when one actively searches for it.

With this in mind, many are surprised when we mention that we are proponents of plastic surgery. Since so much of our practice is in alternative therapies and solutions many are astounded when we look favorably on cosmetic practices which involve actual surgery.

The truth is, I have visible tattoos, my daughter has a labret piercing and my partner has had a rhinoplasty. Beauty and confidence are often intertwined and each unique person has ways they wish to be seen. How one presents themsleves is a completely personal decision and the stigma that society has tried to push on proponents and practicioners of plastic surgery is pointless.  In Beverly Hills facelifts are common. The surgery is quick and rather non-invasive. I am mesmerized by the specific specialty of Otolaryngology, which involves facial reconstruction and cosmetic changes. As an artist and a sculptor I see this practice as a natural extension of the evolution of art and beauty. One can truly sculpt the human face now. This shouldnt be a stigma! This should be seen for the wonder that it is.

If your in California look for a Beverly Hills Cosmetic Plastic Surgeon that has a specialty in Otolaryngology

We have discussed custom t-shirts design previously on “Crystal Healing,” we have found great success with marketing and branding our services and retail options via custom branded t-shirts and also found that with some artistic and clever thought we were able to come up with t shirt designs that our customers and readers enjoy.

When first working with a printing company its always good to get a feel for the customer service, pricing and ordering process before committing to any one source. Often these companies will specialize in only a few services which may lead to better pricing on just one product but forces us as a retailer to shop around more when looking for variety such as embroidered shirts or printing on polo shirts.

Variety in print process is important as is a broad selection of printable products if you want to be able to quickly change your branded items throughout the seasons or for specific events. But the most important part is the ordering and customer service options.

My first orders with a leading tshirt company were unduly stressful because of the attempted automation and upsell techniques of the service. I wasnt quite sure if my design was in the right format or woud appear in the proper place on the tshirts and getting a hold of a human was quite difficult. I also wasnt sure how much I was getting charged because the company kept throwing unwanted options at me,

Luckily, I was turned away and happened upon Bender Shirts instead.

A real human being actually takes part in the ordering process!

You can get quotes and get a feel for the cost before ordering but when it comes down to it, a staff member actually calls and talks over your order with you. Thsi is huge for us. We are technically adept but just a few minutes of conversation with a live human really takes the stress off. We appreciate the human touch in our business and appreciate it when businesses we work with also keep customer service human and real.

Guest written by our friend Mason Abbott

Sometimes it’s tough being a single female, like when all my friends got engaged and then married. When I was in my mid twenties it wasn’t that big of a deal but now that I’m older it seems to wear on me a little more. I always felt like I was the odd one out and now that I’m in my 30s I know I am! I mean, it’s not like I’m not living my life and doing my own thing – I have my own place and my own http://www.securitychoice.com account and everything like that but it definitely would be nice to share it all with someone…I know I’m ready to settle down and get married and even have some kidsat some point but for now I’ve just got to go through the day to day and be the best woman I know how to be! I’m a great employee and a wonderful daughter and I think all my friends like me so it shouldn’t be too hard…

Many of our readers are in the Health Industries. Within the Health Industries a great trend in introducing holistic and alternative therapies such as crystal healing has been growing.

Scrubs create a professional and clean impression upon your clients but many non-traditional offices have staff that can be adverse to the uniformity they can present. We were lucky to find http://www.blueskyscrubs.com a provider of cotton scrubs and custom and fashionable scrubs.

We were able to keep up staff morale by allowing our staff to select from a collection of more fashionable scrubs that offer more utility and tailored sizing then traditional medical supply options.

Traditional scrubs can be oddly sized and are often an embarassment when one has to leave the workplace for lunch or errands. Our office operates odd hours and many of our staff often need to do errands before and after work and didnt want to be forced to chnage at work or wear what can be essentially cotton sacks if not tailored well. We were able to allieve this dissent by showing that scrubs did not have to be uncomfortable or ill made.

Blue Sky Scrubs also allowed us to use a custom logo with specific size requirements for our office family, they then create custom tailored scrubs. 

You can see the distinction  in craftmanship in these scrubs based on the important little details That Are often overlooked at normal sources. The fashionable scrub pants actually have usable pockets on the front and back and the shirts have chest pockets.

As a seller of crystals and healing jewelry I attend alot of tradeshows and flea markets. I find that having some less expensive and fun items such as t-shirts really helps to bring foot traffic to my shows and often I get repeat business from the customers who like to stop by and see my latest t-shirts designs. I think since they wear the shirts so often they are often reminded about what I have to offer.

The alternative therapies niche doesnt have a huge selection of popular themes that attract everyday folks. So I make my own Custom T-Shirts to sell. First, I made a handful of shirts with my business name and contact info so that when me and my daughter walked around the trade show and when we attended other relevent industry conventions (even if we didnt have a table or booth) interested people would speak to us and often look us up later or buy from our online shop.

This worked well, so we decided to make some shirts that had designs that everyone would appreciate and have our brand name. 

Our top selling designs include fractal geometry, crystal name guides and crystal and birth charts. It was quite a surprise to see people randomly wearing our designs across the state, but it was a good surprise.